Allen Iverson discusses his unique bond with Philly fans and ‘bittersweet’ NBA legacy: ‘We grew up together’

The Hall of Famer spoke for nearly an hour Tuesday about his life, his time with the Sixers, and his new memoir, “Misunderstood.”

Sixers legend Allen Iverson had a Hall of Fame career in Philly. He recently released a memoir.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

by Gabriela Carroll

Published Oct. 16, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET

Since Allen Iverson was drafted first overall by the Sixers in 1996, Iverson and the city of Philadelphia have had a special relationship.

It wasn’t always easy, but nearly 30 years later, hundreds of Iverson fans packed the Theatre of Living Arts in South Philly on Tuesday for the latest stop on Iverson’s book tour for his memoir, Misunderstood.

“There’s no fan-player relationship like what we have,” Iverson said. “Philly, my era, we grew up together. They watched me fall and get back up, brush myself off, fall, get back up, and they always supported — good, bad, they’ve always been my support system.”

Iverson, who spent the first decade-plus of his Hall of Fame career with the Sixers and led them to the NBA Finals in 2001, spoke for about an hour alongside friends Nasir “Gillie Da Kid” Fard and Wallace “Wallo” Peeples about his book, sharing stories and memories from his life. The crowd at TLA was far from the usual quiet of a book tour, but no less attentive.

Fitting for Iverson, the crowd was rowdy and rambunctious, cheering and laughing along with his jokes. Iverson’s commitment to bringing his whole self, whether on stage talking about his book or on the court with the Sixers, is part of why he’s still so loved in the city.

“Philadelphia is so unique with the fans here because it’s not easy to figure out,” Iverson said. “It’s the effort. All they care about is the effort, and that was right up my alley because I play every game like it’s my last. I’ve always been like that. I can go in the locker room after the game and take a shower and look myself in the mirror after I go 0-for-Winfrey from the field, and I felt good about myself because — and I know the fans respected it, because they knew that No. 3 played harder than anybody out there tonight.”

But Iverson was more than the player fans saw on the court, and he told the crowd Tuesday that he wrote the book as a “confession of me being human.”

“He’s just like me,” Iverson said. “He hurt like me, cry like me, emotional like me, and he’s got feelings, got situations within his family, his friends, his profession. You navigate through all that, trying to come out unscathed, trying to make it through life. I’m just like you. I’m no different from you.

“When you have that doubt in your mind, I’m living proof that your dreams can come true,” Iverson added.

Iverson worked on the book for nearly three years, with help from cowriter Ray Beauchamp, and he wanted to share his story in his own words. Off the court, he was a trailblazer in the way he dressed, leading to the invention of the “Iverson Rule” NBA dress code, and he unashamedly brought his home crowd with him.

At the time, Iverson’s style was considered controversial by some, but the Hampton, Va., native didn’t think there was anything wrong, despite people trying to change the way he dressed or did his hair.

“I didn’t look at it like that, and I wasn’t afraid of that. The last thing I wanted to do was be somebody that the people that love me and that I love couldn’t recognize anymore,” Iverson said. “I didn’t feel like nothing is wrong with me, with my hair, with the cornrows. … The tattoos, I always wanted them, I just couldn’t afford them. So that’s how I went crazy with the tattoos.

“And then my dress. I dressed like dudes from my neighborhood. I dressed like the drug dealers from my neighborhood. I wanted to look like them. I wanted the Guess. I wanted the Girbaud’s. I wanted the Polo and all that stuff. I just couldn’t afford it. I was wearing my sister’s jeans two times a week to school. So it was just me being myself.”

Added Iverson: “And then I was 21 years old when I came into the league. Guys were wearing suits and all that after the game, at the arena. I’m going [to] Friday’s. I’m going to the club. Where am I going to where I got to wear a suit? Where I’m from, everybody that wore a suit, was either going to church … or court.”

Today’s NBA players can embrace their personal style and have more avenues to show off their personalities through podcasts and TV. It’s “bittersweet” for Iverson, who was heavily criticized for doing that himself, but he’s excited to release his book into a world that’s more open to hearing his story.

“It’s bittersweet, but I’m a big boy,” Iverson said. “I’ve matured so much in my life, and I’ve been able to let the bad feeling, the bad taste in my mouth go away. Because when you think about it, you should feel good about what you had to go through for somebody to not have to go through it.

“Now the media is embracing guys’ personality and who they are and getting a chance to understand who they are before they judge a look or a sound bite or anything like that.”

And Iverson has already seen players benefit.

“It’s a beautiful feeling,” he said. “It’s a beautiful feeling, especially when they come up to you and tell you that, like, ‘Yo, man, thank you. You paved the way for us. Man, you inspired us. You influenced us, like, to be ourselves and to be comfortable in our own skin.’”